A Day Without Rain
by Ava Sinclair
Summary: Reeling from yet another heartache, Leah spends the day with someone unexpected and ponders what's to come next. Takes place immediately after the end of Breaking Dawn. The second of three days that will alter Leah's destiny.
1. A Day Without Rain

_**This is somewhat of a follow up to my first Leah one-shot, Independence Day, but it can stand on its own as well. The events in this chapter take place shortly after the end of Breaking Dawn. **_

_**Thank you so much for reading. Feedback is always appreciated.**_

_A Day Without Rain_

_What the hell am I doing here? _I thought to myself for the millionth time as I sat on the riverbank, looking into the gently rushing water.

Across the river and set back from its banks, the white house loomed, imposing. The Bloodsucker Palace. The stink emanating from it was leaving permanent wrinkles on my face.

And yet here I was, willingly inhaling it. There was no real reason for me to be here...oh, I'd used my little brother Seth's presence as an excuse, but that's all it was and he knew it. He'd tried to hide it, but he felt sorry for me. He had already known, I suddenly realized, feeling a dull stab of betrayal. He'd been fully aware of the bomb preparing to drop on me. No wonder he hadn't questioned my sudden arrival.

My thoughts took me back now, to this morning, back to home, where I'd been cleaning up after breakfast...

_Mom had been unnaturally quiet all through the meal. It was odd because I thought she'd be in full worry mode. She knew full well that Seth was back at the Cullens. He'd happily volunteered to be on VampBaby Watch for that worrywart Jake while he suffered through summer school, trying to make up for the months he'd missed. It was ridiculous and unnecessary; she had a whole clan of super powered freaks to keep an eye on her, but Seth was pleased to do it anyway. _

_Still, despite the recent renewed alliance between the bloodsuckers and the pack, Mom hated it when Seth went over there. She hated it even more when Jake wasn't there as well, which up until now was pretty much an unheard of phenomenon. _

_So why wasn't she filling my ears with a stream of complaints? Why, instead, did she keep giving me those strange looks and biting her lip?_

_She was doing it again now, staring at me while my back was to her as I scrubbed the frying pan. I could practically feel her eyes burning holes into me. I whipped around, catching her in the act, and she froze._

_"Mom." I put the frying pan back in the soapy water and turned the rest of the way around. "You're driving me crazy. Whatever you have to say, just say it_."

_She flushed slightly, and then sighed. Her back stiffened, as if she was steeling herself for something. "I have some news." She tried to smile, tried to keep her tone casual, but it wasn't working, and I could feel myself tense in response._

_"What news?" I managed to say tightly. It suddenly felt hard to breathe. I could feel something bad coming, like a meteor hurled towards my universe, ready to consume it all over again._

_"It's well...it's Emily. And..." She looked as though she desperately wished she didn't have to say his name. "...Sam. They went over to the courthouse yesterday. They...they got married, Leah."_

Married.

_I was silent and it seemed the rest of the universe fell silent as well. All I could hear was my own heart pounding in my chest. How odd. You wouldn't think that a shattered, smashed heart would be so loud. Shouldn't it just stop, like the rest of my life had? _

_"Why?" I finally managed. "What about all their plans? What about the wedding?" _

_"Well..." Mom's smile was all wrong; trembling, turned down at the corners, more of a grimace. She was afraid, I suddenly realized. For it was clear to me now...Sam and Emily suddenly rushing off and getting married was only the tip of the iceberg. She didn't think I could handle the rest._

_I closed my eyes. "She's pregnant, isn't she?" My whisper seemed to ring through the room as if I'd screamed the words._

_There was another long silence. I opened my eyes and stared at her without blinking until she took another deep breath. "Yes. They just found out."_

_I turned away from Mom now, staring out the window and into the rare blue sky beyond. The sun was high overhead. I avoided looking at it. I didn't want it to sting my eyes and make her think I was crying. _

_No, crying was the last thing I wanted to do. In fact, for one strange second, I almost wanted to laugh. Well, at least life was consistent. As soon as the pain got more bearable, as soon as I dragged myself to my feet, it threw something at me to knock me down once more. I could count on that more than I could count on the rain returning to Forks. _

_After several excruciatingly long seconds had passed, I turned back to Mom, noting with bitter amusement that she had put the length of the room in between us. Didn't want to end up with a face like her niece's, I guessed, my face twisting into a sardonic smile. _

_"Well." I said finally. "Looks I'm stuck with one seriously ugly bridesmaid's dress for no good reason."_

_Mom bit her lip, and I sighed in exasperation. Couldn't she just play along? I was fighting to hold it together. Didn't she realize that her pity was like fiery coals piled on my head, burning away my pride, the one thing I had left? _

_I couldn't stay in the house another second. She cringed back as I pushed past her, trying to get to the front door. To my surprise, she reached out a hand as I passed. Trying to...what? Stop me? Comfort me? _

_I would never know, because I flinched away from her instinctively and she blanched. Hurt crept into her expression._

_"Leah, I'm trying here." Her voice held a mix of pain and anger. _

_I paused, but I didn't turn back to look at her. "I know, Mom. I'm sorry. I just - I have to get out of here." _

_I didn't wait for a response. I was out the door and minutes later, I was flying through the forest on four legs, going faster, faster, faster...leaving it all burning on the trail I left behind me. _

**xXx**

And now I was here. Why I had chosen leech territory over the refuge the forest held, I still didn't understand. Maybe it was because Seth was here, and at least his pity was tempered with a decent amount of fear of me, which made me feel slightly less pathetic.

Maybe it was because the stench was distracting...would rather have my nose and eyes burn then my heart.

Maybe it was because...because home, La Push, was nothing more than a mirage to me now, the place I was supposed to belong, but didn't. There, I would always be the square peg trying to fit into the round hole. Here, there was no question that I was an anomaly that didn't belong. It was a relief to not have to try.

Seth had excused himself as fast as he could after I'd gotten there, with the excuse that he'd needed to run the perimeter. I laid back in the grass on the riverbank, phased back into my human form so my head would be quiet and I wouldn't infect him with my bitterness any more than I already had.

I didn't let myself think of anything, just enjoyed the warmth of the sunlight seeping into my denim shorts and burning my bare legs and midriff just slightly. Did minutes pass, or hours? Didn't matter. They all felt the same lately; there was no point in keeping track.

I would have gone on like that indefinitely if a brightly colored movement from the house across the river hadn't caught my eye. I looked idly, no really caring what it was, and then my eyes widened when I saw a small figure step carefully on to a second story window sill. It was the half vamp kid with the unpronounceable name. Bella's daughter. Jacob's imprint. My lip curled at that before I focused on her a little more intently, wondering what she was doing.

She was still standing in the open window; her small, bare feet were clinging to the sill, her tiny yellow gown lightly ruffling in the gentle breeze. A smile curved her mouth as she surveyed the ground far below, and I suddenly realized what she was going to do. No. _No way. _She wasn't really going to -

She crouched and I shot up from the ground, ready to phase, ready to dash across the river and throw myself under her window in a fruitless attempt to catch her, knowing I would never make it in time. At that moment, it didn't matter that she was barely human, a genetic joke. Maybe she wasn't really a kid, but she looked like one right then, looked just as fragile as any other child about to hurtle two stories to the unforgiving ground...

And in the time it took for me to jump up, quivering all over, she leapt. I stared in open-mouthed horror only to see her alight on the ground as gracefully as a butterfly, still on her feet, unhurt, but looking very pleased with herself.

Beaming brightly, she lifted her auburn covered head and looked directly at me. Her smile widened and then she was running straight at me. I stepped back now, glad that the creepy little thing was stuck on the other side of the river, but once again the half-breed surprised me. She changed direction suddenly, making a beeline for an area where the gap wasn't as wide, and then, with a leaping bound, she was across. Giggling quietly, she was at my feet in a matter of seconds, looking up at me expectantly.

"Gah!" I was breathing heavily as I glared down at her. "You nearly gave me a heart attack! Where _are_ your parents?"

I stared at the front of the white house, expecting a half dozen hysterical vampires come tearing out in search of their Fanged Freakling, at which point I was going to give them a piece and a half of my mind. Devil child or not, they shouldn't be leaving her on her own to dive off of window sills.

Nobody came though, and I was diverted from wondering why by a tug on my belt loop. I looked down and the kid was holding her tiny hands up, trying to reach me. If I hadn't been distracted, I would have realized what she was trying to do. My mind was elsewhere however, and so, unconsciously, I did what I would have done if she'd been any other kid and leaned down to hear what she had to say.

Her hands were immediately on either side of my face and suddenly, my mind wasn't my own. Dozens of images were flickering in front of me, answering my question, showing me the various reasons why no one was home with her except that snotty blonde Rosalie and her bulky husband. Apparently Blondie Vamp was doing a piss poor job of babysitting too, because she'd put the rug rat down for a nap and then never bothered to check and make sure the kid was actually sleeping.

All of this echoed in my head in a matter of seconds. Horrified, I tried to pull away but the brat was strong and I was afraid to try too hard to pull her off of me. If I hurt her, Jake would never let me hear the end of it. He might even banish me back to La Push permanently, back to Sam and to everyone's unrelenting pity, and I couldn't stand that, especially not now.

Finally Dracu-Tot let go and I jumped back. "Don't you _ever, ever _-" I was too mad to form more words, or at least not ones that were safe to say around her.

After a moment of hyperventilating and trying to completely shrug off the fact that the little monster had _been in my mind_, I managed to find my voice again.

"Alright, you've had your fun. Go run along home now." I waved an impatient hand.

Little Leech didn't move, just stared up at me with enormous brown eyes, blinking slowly.

"What?" I snapped.

Her lips moved but I couldn't hear what she was saying. Then, to my horror, she grabbed my hand and I was once again assaulted by images, though not as strong as they had been when she'd touched my face. Mostly I heard words...well, one word, really. _**BORED. **_Repeated over and over for the couple of seconds that she was touching me before I shook her off.

"Stop it, you mutant munchkin! That's my mind you're messing with! Why can't you just open your mouth and talk?"

She just stared at me and I exhaled in frustration. "What's it to me if you're bored? Go home and tell someone who cares. I don't know what you expect _me_ to do about it."

Once again she raised her hands but I jumped back again, glaring at her. "_Knock. It. Off. _I swear, if you do that mind meld to me one more time I'm going to drop kick you back across the river."

The Thing didn't look as intimidated as I would have liked, but she did drop her hands. A moment later her lower lip jutted out. I rolled my eyes. "Look, if you have something to say, just say it."

She stared at me blankly and I gritted my teeth. "Do I have to spell it out for you? Talk! Speak! Converse! Open your mouth and make noises! I know it's against everything you are to do something that normal but just fake it for a few, alright? You are seriously creeping me out."

The parasitic progeny blinked rapidly as she looked up at me, apparently waiting for me to weaken. When I didn't, she sighed.

"Ride." She said after a moment, her little voice imperious. Clearly she was very used to being able to say _'jump' _and being answered with _'how high?_'

"Ride?" I repeated, my voice rising. "You mean, on _me_? What do I look like, a children's pony?"

Her pout advanced dramatically. "I don't want to go home. I'm tired of sleeping. I want to play!"

I was rapidly losing what little patience I had. "Do I need to spell it out for you? I'm not your friend, you little freak. What you want means less than nothing to me. Get lost!"

The demon seed stared at me for a long moment, and then her chin began to quiver. I should have just walked away but I was unable to move as the tears pooled in her eyes and then spilled over. In a moment, she was sobbing quietly into her hands.

"Crap, kid, don't do that!" I protested. "Come on now, be quiet!"

She continued to cry, a quiet, heartrending sound. It was a horrendous sound to me, like finger nails on a chalkboard. The sound of her tears ripped through me and battered at my reluctant conscience. Maybe I shouldn't have been so harsh.

"Look, um...I'm didn't mean to...I - uh..." My tongue was all tied in knots as I moved awkwardly to stand next to her. What should I do? Pat her back? Give her a hug? Smack her into the river and hope that the current was strong enough to float her downstream and out of my life forever?

As I nervously shifted from foot to foot, the mutant dropped her hands suddenly and I stared in surprise at her wide, mischievous grin.

"Gotcha!" She burst out gleefully and jumped up and down, clapping her hands.

"What?" I stared at her. Her face was still damp, but she was beaming now, obviously quite pleased with herself.

"You little brat! You really had me going!" I snapped at her. Then I considered it for a moment and couldn't help the grudging smile that shaped my lips. "Real tears and everything. You're good."

She giggled and then something diverted her attention. Her small head inclined towards the house for a moment and I wondered if she heard something I didn't. By the worried expression on her face, they must be looking for her.

When she looked back at me, her face was pleading. I opened my mouth, about to tell her to beat it back home when the unexpected benefits of taking Vamp Baby for a little jaunt began to occur to me. First of all, Jacob would be furious when he found out I'd taken off with his little fiend without permission, and pissing him off just never got old. Second, the bloodsuckers would be in a complete and well-deserved panic when they found she was gone. Cake _and_ icing.

Plus, I could do with a little distraction. I'd much rather be thinking about guarding my back from infuriated vampires then imagine Sam with his perfect Emily and their perfect life. _My_ life, the one that they stole from me.

"OK." I said abruptly. "I'll take you for a run. But there is no way in hell I'm carting your smelly little butt around. You're just going to have to keep up as best you can."

She chewed her lip for a moment, and then nodding, smiling. "I can run fast."

"We'll see about that." I snorted, and with that, I went behind a clump of trees to strip down.

As soon as I phased, Seth's voice was back in my head. I could hear his confusion, then his surprise as he saw the face of Jake's imprint in my mind, and realized who I was going to spend the afternoon with.

_Uh, Leah, I really don't think this is such a good idea. Bella and Edward will freak, not to mention Jacob. You should take her back home. _I could sense him prancing nervously on the other side of the giant house.

_Buzz off. _I thought back. _Oh and Seth...that's an order._

_Dang it, Leah! _I heard him protest but I was running now, the sound of the mutant's feet behind me spurring me onward, faster and faster, and I left the sound of his worry far behind me.

**xXx**

I was already phased, re-dressed, and lounging against the tree in the clearing by the time the creature showed up, panting. She gave me a baby fierce look as she stumbled, and then sank to the grassy ground, trying to catch her breath.

I grinned. "I suppose you are fast, kid. For a _human_."

Vampirella pouted for a few more minutes. "When I race Jake, he lets me win."

"Well, I'm not Jake." I stretched my legs out and yawned.

We sat in silence for a few more seconds and then she bounced up, all signs of exhaustion gone. "I've been here before!" She exclaimed happily, looking around the clearing I'd taken her to, several miles away from the leeches' compound. She bounded over to me. "What do you want to play?"

I snorted loudly. "Hide and Seek. You seek. Go over to that tree and count to a million." I leaned back and closed my eyes.

I could practically hear her pouting again. I opened one eye and sure enough, her lower lip was dragging nearly to the ground. I sighed.

"Listen, I'm not in the mood to play Mary Poppins. Can't you entertain yourself for a while?"I looked at her downcast face for a moment. A frown wrinkled my forehead. "You're lonely, aren't you? Is that why you're so desperate for attention? I guess I can understand that in a way. Must kind of suck to not have any other kids to play with."

"Jake plays with me." she said, skipping around and then stopping to pick a clump of wildflowers.

"Yeah, well, Jake may be emotionally stunted, but he's not a kid. It's not the same. You should have some friends your own age." I frowned at my words. "I guess that's kind of hard though, seeing as you don't stay one age for very long."

She looked a little sad now and I felt an unexpected rush of emotion. It took me a moment to puzzle it out and then I realized I was sad too. For _her. _I suppose some might say she was lucky, talented, special, even, but from where I was sitting, she was just a freakish anomaly. Aging too fast and too strange to fit in with the humans, but not a true vampire either. She was stuck in between worlds and she'd never quite belong. It was a feeling I knew well. Some gift our heritage was. More like a curse, but I was beginning to think I'd had it better than her. At least I'd gotten to be a child. She'd never really have that chance.

I exhaled, annoyed with myself. I was doing it again...feeling all empathetic for beings that I should still consider my enemy. What was wrong with me? I'd been spending way too much time with the walking ticks, I decided. I was in serious danger of actually starting to see them as people. I shuddered at the thought and forced my mind back to the pleasant nothingness that it had been before.

For a long time, I watched blue sky, observing the fluffy white clouds drift slowly through it, imagining I saw shapes in them. Refusing to allow the blackness, the pain that constantly probed at my periphery in to torment me. There would be plenty of time for that later, time to soak my pillow with tears, time to lose myself in bitterness once more. I wanted this one day without rain to myself.

I was starting to feel almost relaxed enough to fall asleep when a sudden, terrified shriek from the kid nearly ripped me right out of my skin. There was a note of genuine horror in it that had my instincts raging, my blood turning to fire in my veins. My instincts took over, screaming at me to phase. I would have in a second, my eyes frantically looking for her attacker, but the sight of her, standing by herself, jumping up and down and frantically swiping at her yellow skirt in such a normal, childlike way gave me the bit of calm I needed.

I ran to her side. "What?" I demanded. "What's wrong with you?"

She turned and buried her face against my legs, her tiny frame quivering with sobs - real ones this time. "S-spider." She choked out after a moment. "On my dress!"

"Spider?" My astonished exclamation was followed by laughter. A spider? Baby Vamp jumps out of windows, rides on werewolves, hunts animals, and she's scared of a _spider_?

I looked down and quickly located it. It was big, gray, fuzzy, and running for its eight legged life through the faded grass. The kid's eyes followed mine and when she saw it she jumped back, a terrified whimper coming from her lips.

I reached down and scooped the spider up in my hand. Her eyes widened in horror and she leapt back several feet.

"Get over it." I told her, turning, the spider crawling over my palm. "Look at it. It's terrified. How can you honestly be scared of something so helpless?"

Fat tears were welling in Bloodsucker Baby's eyes. "It's ugly!" She sobbed. "And scary! Kill it!"

I rolled my eyes and then walked over to her. She tried to step back again but I reached out with my other hand to stop her. "Oh come on, what did it ever do to you?"

Her jaw clenched stubbornly, her tiny hands balling into fists. "Kill it." She repeated, her eyes flashing.

"Why? Because you're frightened? You know it's a bloodsucker just like you, right? Practically family." I snorted. As I spoke, the spider raced over my hand, desperately trying to make an escape. I turned my palm over and over, foiling its every attempt. Finally it gave up and stilled in the middle of my palm, looking resigned.

"People would be scared of you too, you know." I told the kid, looking up.

Her dark eyes widened. "Why?" She asked, looking bewildered.

I chuckled grimly, raising an eyebrow. "Vampires are monsters. Didn't you know that? Just like werewolves. And you're even stranger than the rest of us. You can't even pretend to be a regular human. It's why you can't go to school, why you can't go any where you might be seen. If people knew the truth about you, they'd think you were dangerous."

"But I'm not!" She protested, her eyes filling once more with genuine tears.

I shrugged. "Maybe not. But most people wouldn't understand. They might even want to hurt you, just for scaring them. Kinda like what you want to do to this spider."

Comprehension dawned on her small face. I leaned down, holding out the petrified looking arachnid on my open palm. She flinched back but held her ground.

"Anyway, I guess it's decision time. We could set it free. Or I could kill it like you wanted. What's it going to be?"

She took a deep breath. "Let it go." Her high pitched voice was decided.

"You sure?" I asked her.

Her Vampness nodded. "It's not so scary, I guess."

I smiled. "See, what did Auntie Leah tell you?"

As soon as I registered my own words my smile faded and I froze in horror. Where the hell did that come from?! Someone please tell me I didn't just say what I think I said. Oh holy hell, I just set myself up as proxy aunt to a mini monster. What was _wrong _with me? As soon as Jacob heard about this little slip of the tongue, he'd never let me live it down. Neither would Seth. This could _not_ be happening.

It didn't help that the Hybrid Kid looked delighted by my words. Wonderful. I couldn't even pay her off with candy to keep her quiet like I could if she was a normal kid.

I closed my eyes and searched for any kind of way out of this. Maybe the Cullens were mad enough about my slight kidnapping of their spawn that they would kill me after all. A girl could hope. And if not, I could always try to take a bite out of Bella. That would get a rise out of them for sure, and then no one would ever have to know about my disgusting weakness for half breed kiddie vamps

I decided to live in denial for the moment, and returned to the issue of the spider still in my hand. "Um, anyway, where should we let it go at? Maybe those bushes over there?"

What's her name stared at me like I was being deliberately stupid. "We have to put it back where we found it. Otherwise, it might get lost. I want it to be able to find its family again."

I couldn't help but laugh at that. "It has a family, does it?" I asked as I gingerly lowered the spider back to the ground. We watched it scramble off, limping slightly. I suspected the kid had knocked off one or two of its legs when she'd smacked it off of her.

"Of course it has a family. Everything living has a family." The Halfling informed me, as if I didn't know anything. She'd returned to that stuck up tone that reminded me of her parents and all the reasons why I wouldn't like them even if they weren't vampires.

"You're wrong." I told her flatly, walking across the clearing to a small creek that trickled past. I sat down in front of it and stared into the shallow water.

"I am?" Her tone was uncertain again. I looked up to see she'd followed me and now she sat down next to me. Her gaze was intent on my face.

I hesitated a moment before speaking. Maybe I'd rocked her perfect fairytale world with one too many revelations today. I should probably quit while I was ahead. Her face though, was expectant, and I found myself speaking again.

"Not everyone is like you." I told her, trying to find the right words. "With a house full of people to love them and take care of them. Maybe you're different and your life won't always be easy, but at least you'll never be alone. You have all these people that love you, and they're never going to get old, or sick. They're never going to die. And you've got Jake. You'll never have to worry about finding someone who loves you and accepts you for exactly who you are. You've had that since the second you were born." Jealousy gnawed at me as I spoke.

Weirdo Wonder seemed to considering that. Finally, she looked at me. "What about you? You're always here. You're always alone. Do you have a family? Who loves you, Leah?"

I sucked in a deep breath and closed my eyes, not answering her. A light wind blew across us, and I felt strands of hair fall over my face. I was reminded once that the only people who loved me did so out of obligation. That the only person who'd ever chosen to give his love to me was lost to me forever.

I couldn't stop it now. I'd opened up too much, let her innocent question get inside my head. The pain was coming now, the pain that I'd been trying to escape all day. I sat there, silent, waiting for it to take me over. To ravage me the way it always had.

I don't know how long it was when I realized something was different. My eyes popped open, startled and my mind churned, trying to understand why I felt so off kilter.

"It's over." I whispered, almost to myself. "I don't believe it. It's actually over."

"What's over?" The kid asked and then her eyes widened in alarm. "You're crying!"

I touched my face, feeling the dampness. I _was_ crying. "Yeah." I whispered. "I guess I am."

"Why are you crying? Are you sad?" She was clearly worried now.

"I'm crying because I - " I stopped, struggling for the answer to her question. A faded melody floated through my mind, echoes of a song we used to sing long ago in church when I was a child.

_I sing because I'm happy...I sing because I'm free..._

I'd been waiting for so long, frozen in limbo, for something that was never going to happen. Deep down, so far down in the dark that I hadn't even realized it consciously, I'd always thought Sam would come back to me. That some higher power would realize how unfair it was to take everything from me. Sam, my father, my own humanity, my future... No, it was too much. I'd always imagined someday the universe would right that wrong and give him back.

And now I knew in every particle of my being that it was never, ever going to happen. Sam was not coming back. He and Emily were married. They were having a baby. I would never have him again. I was on my own.

And now I was _free. _

Free to move on, or to stand still, to fly or to fall apart. Whatever I wanted. I wasn't frozen in place anymore. I would never be again.

It did still hurt, regardless. The pain burned through me, melting the ice around my heart, reminding me that I was still human too, that I could still break. I still felt how badly it stung that I hadn't been his chosen one. It was bearable though, easy to compartmentalize. Because I was only willing to surrender so much of myself to mourn him now. I'd given him enough already.

The future stretched out before me, and it was wide open. How could I have not realized it before, that I was ready to start living again?

"Leah?" The tentative whisper came from beside me.

I turned to her, wiping my eyes, and gave her the first true smile I'd given her all day. It might have been the first heartfelt expression on my face in months.

"I owe you one, kid." I whispered to her.

She looked puzzled at my words, but my smile seemed to reassure her. She bounced up and across the grass, humming to herself. I watched her for a few minutes as she skipped in circles, and then darted up a nearby tree to peer at the birds that had been sitting in the nearby branches. Her movements were so light that they seemed to accept her as one of their own, and didn't fly away.

I was perfectly content now, just to stand there and watch her. I did until the light breeze blew across my face again and brought with it a scent that made me jump to my feet in a second. I tensed, shaking all over, until I realized the scent was familiar. _Irritatingly_ so.

I wasn't the only one who noticed. Still balanced on a branch, the halfling turned her face expectantly towards the north.

"Daddy!" She cried, her tiny voice delighted as a pale figure stepped into the clearing. Wonderful; Edward was here.

I shielded my eyes as I watched him. I had never gotten used to the way the sun made vampires shimmer like some freakish rainbow. My eyes were already watering from the blinding glint.

"Nessie." For a moment, his smile was tender as she leapt from the tree directly into his waiting arms, but then his eyes found me and hardened. His mouth settled into grim lines. My own stance tensed in response.

"Leah brought me here, Daddy!" Her voice was animated and he looked startled. I wondered why for a moment and then I realized he wasn't used to her talking out loud.

"I know." His voice was cold now as he set her down on the ground and then turned to me. I grimaced as he approached me, once again fighting the strong urge to phase. I didn't want to risk the kid getting in between us if something went down.

His face twitched a bit at that and I realized he was reading my thoughts. I glared at him. _Stupid intrusive leech. _I snarled at him silently.

"I appreciate your consideration for my daughter's safety." He said, his voice low. "However, if you ever even _think_ about taking her from our supervision again without permission, you and I are going to have a serious problem." His polite words did nothing to disguise the menace behind them.

"Bring it on, Sparkles." I sneered, waving him forward. The kid was just going to have to make herself scarce because I'd been dying for an opportunity to tear one of the leeches apart for months. My fingers twitched and adrenaline coursed through me. I still would have preferred it to be Bella, but he'd do just fine.

Edward's eyes got even blacker in reaction to my unspoken words, and he stepped forward, a low growl issuing from his throat. Oh, this was going to be _fun_.

"Daddy!"

The bloodsucker beat down was pre-empted by the midget's alarmed voice. I sighed in exasperation as Edward instantly moved to her side. He knelt down and she put her little hands on his face, speaking to him with her thoughts.

It was only a couple of seconds before he lifted his head and looked at me again. The threat was gone from his face now, and I sighed in disappointment.

"Sorry." His mouth twitched. "But Nessie tells me this little excursion was actually her idea." He looked back at his daughter. "That was very naughty of you to sneak out like that. You had us all extremely worried."

His voice lacked any kind of true censure, and I rolled my eyes. Looked like Daddy Vamp was a sucker in more ways than one.

Edward's twitch became a full smile at that, and he leaned towards me. "Look who's talking, _Auntie_ Leah."

My smug smile immediately disappeared. "I swear if you tell anyone about that, I'll set you on _fire_." I hissed at him.

Edward snickered. My fists clenched in aggravation, but before I could retort, all three of us heard it, the sound of something massive moving our way fast. Not too gracefully, either, judging by the frequent cracking of trees.

The kid's face lit up. "Jake!" She cried, squirming in her father's arms. He tensed slightly at her delighted expression and then set her down with a resigned sigh.

"Looks like summer school is out for the day." I sighed, and then Jacob burst into the clearing, hopping on one leg as he still struggled to reattach his clothing pouch to his ankle.

"Dammit, Leah!" He roared the instant he caught sight of me. He must have gotten the gist of the situation from Seth already. "What the hell were you thinking? Rosalie's going out of her mind back there! Not to mention _Bella_!" His face was infuriated as he barreled down on me. "I ought to order you back to La Push!"

"You wouldn't dare!" I stepped up to him, glaring fiercely.

"Hell yeah, I would!" He shouted back. "You've gone too far this time! I don't want you within a hundred feet of Nessie, ever -"

A loud sniffle interrupted us and Jacob stopped yellling immediately. His eyes turned to the child standing in front of him and his face grew horrified at the sight of the tears beginning to roll down her porcelain cheeks.

"Don't be mean to Leah!" She sobbed. "She's my friend! You can't send her away!"

Jacob's own face crumpled at the sight of her tears and immediately he was on his knees in front of her. "Aw, Nessie, honey, don't cry!"

The munchkin continued to cry quietly and looking absolutely stricken, Jake picked her up, patting her gently on the back. "I'm sorry." He told her over and over and then finally, shot me a resigned look. "Nessie, please, stop! I promise, I won't order Leah to do anything."

He turned then, evidently intending to carry her towards the house, and over his shoulder, she winked at me. I bit my lip to keep from snickering and giving her away. Standing to the side, Edward shook his head, but he too was smiling.

Jake turned around after a moment. "Are you coming, Leah?" He called to me, the annoyance in his voice muted now.

I hesitated, and then shook my head. "No. I have to go, actually. There's some things I need to take care of."

"Okay." He shrugged. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

I didn't reply, but something about my silence tipped Jacob off. He turned back towards me, still cradling the child carefully in his arms. "I won't see you tomorrow?" His voice was startled.

"Not here." I said after a moment's thought. "I won't be coming back for a while."

"How long is a while?" Jake asked me now. His eyes were confused.

I shook my head. "I don't know yet." I said again.

"But you'll be back someday, won't you?" It was the kid who spoke this time, and the quaver in her voice was real now.

I smiled at her. "You can bet on it, Ren."

Her answering smile was surprised, and I wondered why for a moment until I realized. It was the first time I'd called her by her name. Well, the part I could pronounce, anyway.

Jake watched me for another long moment and then he turned and was gone.

Edward stepped forward as if to follow, and then turned back. His glittering skin was not as blinding now, the shadows beginning to creep across the sky.

"I'm sorry if I overreacted." He told me quietly.

I shrugged. "I'm sorry I didn't get to take you when I had the chance."

He laughed quietly then. "Goodbye, Leah. I wish you luck."

I nodded briskly and with a lightning fast motion, he was gone.

I stood there for a long time, watching the sunlight wane as it slowly disappeared. Before it faded completely, I let my instinct take over and I exploded out of my skin, then ran, following the last few rays, chasing them beneath the horizon. Knowing all the while that I was headed back to La Push.

For there would be no future for me, despite all the progress I'd made, until I confronted the past, one last time.

**xXx**

**Thanks again for reading! There will most likely be one more chapter. The idea of writing an Emily/Sam/Leah confrontation is just too irresistible. **


	2. Not a Fakeout

OK, I swear this isn't a big fake out instead of a chapter. The follow up to _A Day Without Rain_ **HAS** been posted. I just didn't make it another chapter to this story because I wanted the three Leah one shots to either be separate or one story. I know; it's all very OCD of me. Anyway, the final Leah one-shot is called _One Day I'll Fly Away_ and it is UP. Just click on Ava Sinclair to find it.

Thanks for all that have put this on alert and waited so patiently this very long while.


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